Friday, May 14, 1982
Eugana, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 152
-emerald
Photo by Bob Baker
Students lined up as early as Wednesday night, some sleeping on the lawn. In hopes of finding a "primo" dorm
Dorm residents rush rooms
By Ann Portal
WHwEiMrtM
Orderly but determined, dorm res
idents descended on the housing office
Thursday to try to secure "primo" dorm
rooms for their on-campus accom
modations next year
Is Carson full already?" one girl
asked anxiously as she picked up a
ticket for the pre-registration process,
which began Thursday evening
The housing office has been
promoting dorm registrations aggres
sively this week, but office personnel
were surprised to find students in
sleeping bags outside the office Thurs
day morning
The students knew the sign-up
began Thursday night and were willing
to wait all night Wednesday and all the
next day to be among the first in line,
said Marge Ramey, assistant housing
director
To make it easier on the students,
staff began handing out numbered re
servation tickets Thursday morning
instead of waiting until 5 p m as
planned Students also received a
sheet listing the time their number
would be called Thursday or Friday
night
"People who spent the night here
weren't going to leave when the
weather got nice," said Tom Gavin, a
graduate assistant who works in the
housing office "Our contention is
there's no reason to make them stand
in line for eight hours."
At the sign-up Thursday evening,
students clustered around the maps of
dorm rooms while rumors circulated
about the number of filled rooms. In an
atmosphere reminiscent of class regis
tration, students stood in line and
leaned against walls, waiting to ad
vance into the sign-up room
Students eagerly identified their rea
sons for standing in long lines to get a
certain room or hall.
Right now, we look at a roof (outside
the window) It's called the slums," said
freshmen Karla Sorenson and Shelly
Hampton. "I was ready to come over
here at 9 a m.," Hampton added
Both women picked Carson as their
number one choice and listed the all
women or single sex dorms as the least
popular
“I don't think I could handle living in
an all-girl dorm," Sorenson said. "Co
ed would be better," Hampton added
In another line, two men had their
own reasons for putting up with the
wait
Freshman Hugh Farnham had no
problems with his dorm, but wanted.to
move to an upper floor so his stereo
would be safe if he brought it to school
Another freshman, Rodney Jen
nings, wanted out of Henderson Hall in
the Bean Complex His room is "really
dark” and has small windows, he said.
"I heard a rumor that the design was
transferred from a prison,” Farnham
said. They had the design and thought
they would save money.”
Jennings had his eye set on Earl Hall
and quickly ticked off its attributes:
upper class, quiet, closer to campus
In spite of the early demand, the
housing office expects a decline in the
number of dorm residents next year
Rates have increased 9 percent —
slightly less than inflation, Ramey
points out She says the dorms need
about 2,900 students to maintain the
current level of services
"Quite frankly, we think we’re going
to have empty beds next fall.” Ramey
says
Housing's sign-up campaign has in
cluded posters in all the dorms and
buttons worn by housing personnel
that say, “Do it today" As students sign
up they get buttons that say, “I did it."
So far, the registration of students
who want to keep the room they’re in
this year is up 100 percent over last
year, Ramey says
Unlike previous years, housing has
opened up all dorm rooms and is not
reserving any for incoming freshmen,
largely because of the declining
number of applications to the Universi
ty
"This year we decided to go for the
bird-in-the-hand," Ramey says
Anti-arms groups rally Saturday
A demonstration against the build-up
of nuclear arms by the United States and
the Soviet Union will culminate in a rally
at Alton Baker Park Saturday
Citizen Action for Lasting Security is
planning the rally, while Students for a
Nuclear Free Future, First Step and the
Oregon Nuclear Weapons Freeze Cam
paign are co-sponsors of the nuclear
freeze rally
The demonstration begins at II a m at
five neighborhood gathering points: the
EMU courtyard, South Eugene High
School, Washington-Jefferson overpass
park, Wesley United Methodist Church at
Oakway Road and Cal Young Road and
in Springfield's Island Park at the west
end of Main Street.
Marchers will converge at Alton Baker
Park at I p.m. to hear three speakers and
to attend a Peace and Social Justice
Faire featuring over 20 booths from local
groups
Karen Steingard, president of Oregon
Physicians for Social Responsibility, and
CALS’s Olive Bower will speak to the
marchers Congressman Jim Weaver,
D-Ore., delivers the keynote speech
Weaver and Rep Les AuCoin, D-Ore.,
are heading a state-wide petition drive
against nuclear arms for the November
ballot
The petition asks the Oregon governor
to inform the president and Congress
that Oregonians support “immediate
halt of testing, production, and fur
ther deployment of all nuclear
weapons.”
On Sunday a "Footrace to Stop the
Arms Race" will be held in conjunction
with Saturday’s rally The five-mile run,
starting at 8 a m. at Alton Baker Park,
costs $7 to enter, which includes a T
shirt Entry deadline is Saturday For
more information call CALS at 343-8548
Local political
scene interests
ASUO officials
By Rich Burr
Of th» Emerald
• iwu nouu umuiais, siuoeni
politics are not enough
With primary campaigns at full throttle,
Dave Berns, legislative coordinator, and
Alan Contreras, vice president of pro
gram administration, have joined the
campaigns of local and state candidates
Contreras is a campus organizer for
Susan Sowards, a Eugene City Council
candidate, while Berns is distributing
literature for gubernatorial candidate
Ted Kulongoski and "pounding the
ground’’ for Jim Crest, a candidate for
State Labor Commissioner.
Both have been active in campaigns
before. Contreras says he worked for the
1978 primary campaign of Bill Dwyer, a
county assessor candidate, and Margie
Hendrickson’s (D-Eugene) successful
1980 state representative bid.
Berns says his campaign roots can be
traced to New York where he distributed
leaflets for mayoral candidates and the
1976 Jimmy Carter presidential cam
paign. In 1980 he helped U S. Rep. Jim
Weaver (D-4th District) as part of a "1980
Elections” political science class, which
placed students in various Oregon cam
paigns
Concern for the community and cer
tain policies motivated Berns to get per
sonally involved.
"It’s just a feeling you have in your gut
about things in the community,” he says
“You just have a desire inside.”
For Contreras, it took the candidancy
of Dwyer, a personal acquaintance, to
get him involved
"My philosophy is that if you don't vote
you can't complain,” he adds. “I love to
complain.”
Both officers have done door-to-door
campaigning Instead of writing cam
paign literature, Berns says he chose
grass-roots campaigning "to find out
what is really concerning people.”
’’I think you become more under
standing when it comes down to political
diversity," he says. "You are more sym
pathetic but you are not necessarily won
over."
The Weaver campaign sent him to
Armitage, a conservative town, Berns
says With a heavy New York accent and
a liberal candidate, he received some
"funny” responses, he says
"By talking to them, I got a lot of
feedback," Berns says. "A lot of people
were negative. You couldn't have gotten
that by writing."
"You need to be ready for quickie
questions like why are you for her?’ ”
Contreras says, adding that such ques
tions may seem easy to answer, but
unless prepared, campaign workers may
look indecisive and unsure of them
selves.
Time commitments to the ASUO have
affected campaigning time differently for
Berns and Contreras. Contreras says he
currently has more free time while Berns
says he is pressed for time.
"The next couple of weeks is slackest
because the budget book is completed, ”
Contreras says. "It’s convenient for that
reason."
"As usual I'm 10-percent busier than I
should be," he adds, saying he will con
tribute three to four hours daily next
week for Sowards.
"I’m certain I'll be involved in Eugene
politics for the rest of my days," Con
treras says